A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab ☆

“Love and loss,” he said, “are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.”

Title: A Conjuring of LightAuthor: V.E. SchwabGood things about this book: Amazing ending to an amazing trilogy.Bad things about this book: Nothing.Do I recommend it? More than recommend it, I comand you to read it.Rate: 5+++/5 (☆: “favourites books”)

Simply perfect. A magnificent book. An ending that’s just right. Wow!
I want to crawl inside Schwab’s mind and swim in her incredible ideas. That’s a brain to ensure for billions.

Knowing my paperback would be here who knows when, I also pre-ordered the kindle version. I woke up at the unholy hour of FIVE, I repeat five, in the morning, with its weird sounds and eerie feeling, just to start reading it as soon as possible.
I read for three hours, went to work and came back to keep reading. That was my mission. My eyes have trouble focusing when I took breaks, while I followed avidly the percentage slowly increasing.

To my delight, I didn’t have anything to do.
To my disdain, I don’t read fast.

When I finally finished it, a thousand hours later, I felt everything and nothing. My eyes watered of tiredness but also because I was feeling that strange mix of sadness and happiness.

A journey came to an end.
These characters are mine to keep. Mine to cherish.

Kell scowls. Kell frowns. Kell smiles. Kell struggles. Guilt is eating him up; it’s his fault this new menace is upon them all, his fault he let his anger made decisions for himself. People often let their pain speak for themselves. It’s not the healthiest of choices but in that situation you can’t do anything about it until you realize it’s too late to undo whatever you’ve done. Kell needs to leave his guilt aside for a moment, join forces with friends and foes, and get rid of the common enemy they’re facing before it engulfs their world with its fog and shadows.

Kell is adorable. Something (read: ALL) about him scream fluffy in my eyes. I can’t help feeling jealous of Lila because I want to be the one in his arms, playing with his beautiful hair, sliding my hands under his shirt, kissing magic words all over his body. Oh my, that took a perv turn! Kell, being an Antari, is powerful but his power can do only so much. The rest is up to him and a growth as a person and as a magician very much needed and, luckily, it arrives, not forced, not weird, just natural.

There’s one thing about Kell that makes me mad, though. His coat. I’ve been looking for the perfect one for months, but nothing, and there he is with his magical coat, perfect for every occasion. I want it so badly. Thanks, Kell, for ruining coats for me for eternity.

“Of all the ways to die, only a fool chooses pride.”

Rhy, the hollow prince, frail yet strong. He embraces his new self, a self who can’t die, only suffer. He heals fast on the surface but the echo of pain lives in him for a very long time. Rhy, who is afraid to love, who guards his heart, but can’t keep it from skipping a beat when Alucard smiles at him.
Rhy’s character development goes beyond my expectations and, where there was a crush for his lovely being, now there’s an undeniable love that is willing to protect him at all costs. Just like Kell. We have that in common, besides the red hair.
Rhy embraces his weakness transforming himself from the spoiled prince everyone knows to a smart and brave prince everyone will follow and put their trust into.

“Do you ever get tired of running, Bard?”
She cocked her head. “No.”
Alucard’s gaze went to the horizon. “Then you haven’t left enough behind.”

I was hard on Delilah Bard in the past because in A Gathering of Shadows I felt she acted very selfishly. It felt she didn’t care about anyone but herself. I thought that during the whole book. I frowned at that. I frowned hard. What I didn’t understand, forgetting the Lila in A Darker Shade of Magic, was that the Lila I was seeing and disliking giving her no benefit of doubt, was only one piece of a puzzle of a wonderful person. A person I very much wanted to know more about. Lila is brave, fearless, a bit crazy, a trouble magnet, and she cares. Caring is scaring. Is it weakness? Maybe. Is it strength? I think it is.

Delilah Bard is a surprise, may it be good or bad; a firecracker you admire and fear, a fast learner that when she is properly taught, will be pretty unstoppable. She has her Scowl Prince by her side to teach her everything he knows but I think they will teach each other a lot of things (wink wink). I ship it. I ship it on a ship. I ship it on a ship among ships.

“Dead men can’t hold grudges.”

Oh Captain, my Captain. Alucard Emery is a charming and powerful captain of many secrets, some revealed, some a mystery. I was very much taken by his charms that I firstly failed to see his pain. It all came like a wave of the waters he usually sails. I was sad about how his family treated him. His own blood being less than a family that the crew he personally chose. A family not related who accepts him not matter what.

Rhy and Alucard. The prince and the pirate. Sorry, the privateer. They love each other, so much everyone can see it, it’s clear as light. Heartaches are hard to heal, won’t be easy, but if there’s a will and love there’s a way for sure. Nothing can come between a well-deserved happy ending.

It was cowardice, he knew, but cowardice came so much easier than hope.

There’s a kind of love you feel for characters you are not supposed to feel love for: villains. Bad characters can charm you into their evil hands without you noticing and then it’s too late. It happens all the time. You love villains even when everything they do is plain evil, and you don’t excuse their actions but you still love them.

I don’t think this applies to Holland. He is not a villain. He has done bad things, yes, but he is not a bad person. In this book we get many information about Holland’s past, info maybe you think you didn’t need nor wanted but that you will be thankful you were given. When Holland was under the Dane twin’s curse, he lost so much of himself, his blood tainted with evil he was forced to do. While he really only wanted to restore his London’s beauty, magic and colours. Just like Red London. He made a terrible mistake; he put his trust into someone, something, he wouldn’t have dreamed could bring so much pain and death.

He carries his guilt like a rock around his neck, his mistakes like spines around his heart. I think of him and I feel sadness. I picture his face and feel love. Not the same love I feel for Kell or Rhy, but it’s still a strong feeling I can’t shake. I can’t hate Holland for his choices; I can appreciate his will to make things right.

While the Antari, the magicians, and the prince play a main role in these events, there are also side character that are pretty important. Maxim and Emira Maresh, King and Queen of Arnes, are not only Rhy and Kell’s parents here. Kell’s personal guard, Hastra, is more than a young and frail man who always seems out of place. And many more are here to play a role, no matter how little, in fighting the Shadow King and restore peace. There’s more that what meets the eye. Everything is a surprise; we learn so much, we care, we are heartbroken, we hope, we cheer, and we love.

Nothing is left to chance, to wonder. This book doesn’t have pointless parts in my opinion. It may seem long (and maybe it is a little) but it doesn’t feel that way. When you get to the end it almost feel it was too short.
I already miss them all.

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